TWO brothers who were seemingly fit and healthy were both diagnosed with insulin-dependent diabetes days apart.

The condition, which can be fatal if not regulated, was picked up due to the vigilance of their mum, a trained auxiliary nurse.

And because type 1 diabetes is neither contagious nor directly hereditary, doctors were amazed that James and Thomas Fox developed the condition at the same time.

Both have now learned to live with diabetes but three years ago the Tamworth family was turned upside down when their conditions were discovered.

And it was down to the knowledge of mum Louise, a 40-year-old maternity support worker, that both were picked up early enough to avoid long term damage.

Louise and husband Michael, a 49-year-old senior telecoms engineer first became concerned about ten-year-old James in the autumn of 2007.

“He was showing all the obvious signs of diabetes and being thirsty all the time,” recalled Louise. “I tested his glucose and it was really high. I took him to the GP who sent him straight away to Good Hope Hospital where they confirmed it was diabetes. That was on the Thursday and they kept him in the hospital until the Sunday.”

But on the Monday the family made another devastating discovery when Louise tested the blood sugar levels of her other two children, 11-year-old Thomas and nine-year-old Eleanor.

“Eleanor was fine but when I tested Thomas I found he had a high level as well.”

Within 24 hours of James coming home, the family found themselves back at Good Hope Hospital when Thomas was also diagnosed with diabetes.

While the possibility of a child having either a parent or sibling with the condition is one in 25, the chances of them both developing it at the same time are miniscule.

“The doctors could not believe it,” said Louise. “There are cases where siblings both develop diabetes but for them both to have been diagnosed just a few days apart is so incredibly rare.”

Initially, the boys had to undergo daily blood tests and injections but earlier this year both switched to pumps which regulate insulin flow.

But Louise said it has been a difficult three years, complicated all the more by the fact that Thomas also has coeliac disease which means he cannot eat food containing gluten.

All three children were students at St Gabriel’s School in Wilnecote, which has been massively supportive, although Thomas has just moved to St Francis of Assisi School in Aldridge.

At St Gabriel’s the boys, together with teacher Marie Livesey, organised a diabetes day earlier this summer and raised £387 for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

The family are taking part in their third JDRF Walk to Cure Diabetes, having collected more than £250 at the event in the past.